The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday urged clinicians and laboratories to test for the bird flu within 24 hours in people hospitalized with influenza, as part of its efforts to tackle the ongoing infections in humans.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hospitals treating people for the flu should test them for avian influenza within 24 hours.

The CDC advises testing hospitalized flu patients for bird flu within 24 hours to prevent delays in identifying human infections. While the public risk remains low, nearly 70 Americans have contracted bird flu.